Wednesday, December 26, 2007

One of my favorite traditions is making lefse on Christmas Eve morning at Grandma's house. This year we prepared the dough the night before and brought it along. It is made from mashed potatoes, 5 pounds or so, of course made with butter and mashed as finely as possible, no lumps, so that it will ultimately roll out smoothly. Having no lumps required lots of taste testing. Lots.

Sister C. was there, me & the 3 girls, and Grandma. We brought Starbucks. Since Grandma had taught us so well, basically she hung out while we did the mixing, rolling, and cooking on the griddles.

The little kid got to do some of the cooking. She did a great job turning the lefse, which is really hard. The griddle is extremely hot. When it is bubbling on the underside, you have to quickly slide the turner all the way under the lefse, turn, then flatten it out.

The older girls were just quietly and efficiently doing their part rolling and cooking. My main job this year was mixing the dough (so now we all truly know how to make it, start to finish). Grandma, C & I only rolled out 2-3 lefse each. The girls did all the rest!

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Cars are coming into our driveway 1 by 1, as the cookie party has just started. A is hosting a cookie swap, where each girl brings 1-2 dozen cookies, some to eat, some to share, plus a Secret Santa gift.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Sunday was a great day for sledding. And now we have about 4" inches more -- for the kids to play in! And for me to shovel!! Fun.

G and her friend L did a "spider web." That is, they held each other's ropes from their sleds and then stayed together down the hill. I thought they would get all tangled up and topple over each other precariously etc., but no, it worked very well!

Sunday, December 2, 2007

We had a snowstorm yesterday, about 6 inches that fell during the day. There wasn't really anything we had to do or anywhere we had to go in particular. S. had an event with Job's Daughter's and before we could decline going due to the bad road conditions, they called and canceled.

We decorated, hung out at home and basically had a nice day. My husband made a delicious beef stew with the added sweetness of baked beans and kielbasa sausage.

OK-yes. I took these pics from the same place, either from an inside window or perched at the front door - but not outside.